Still, not enough water

The recent rains have some feeling good about the weather. On first blush it would lead one to think that this drought thing has passed.

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Posted Apr. 2, 2014 at 12:01 AM

Posted Apr. 2, 2014 at 12:01 AM

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The recent rains have some feeling good about the weather. On first blush it would lead one to think that this drought thing has passed.

Go through some neighborhoods and you will see lawn sprinklers going, cars being washed in driveways with hoses and sidewalks being washed down.

The recent rains are appreciated but have only made a small dent in the state's water woes.

As of Monday, Stockton's rainfall was only 52 percent of normal. Only during the past weekend did the San Joaquin River watershed receive enough precipitation to surpass 1923-24, the driest year on record.

And if those are not strong enough indicators of drought conditions, consider that the snowpack, which provides water for later in the year to cities and farms as far south as San Diego, is only at 29 percent of normal. At the end of January it was only 15 percent of normal.

And as Record staff writer Alex Breitler reported, lack of fog is one of the most noticeable signs of drought. From October through March, only 12 dense fog days have been reported in Stockton. That's compared with more than 30 days of the previous four years.

And while the recent rains may make it appear that conditions are on the uptick, consider that the wet months, when we receive most of our precipitation, are behind us.

So the rains that we have had recently may seem encouraging, particularly when it is on broadcast news frequently, but it is actually fool's gold.

Appearances are deceiving. So turn off those sprinklers. If you wash your car in your driveway, use a bucket and not a hose. And by all means, remember that it is going to be a long, hot, dry summer.